The much awaited Apple Watch Series 5 is finally here. The Cupertino tech giant officially announced the new smartwatch, which shares a lot of similar features to last year's Series 4 - size and all. What's changed is its always-on display option so you can always check the time without having to move your wrist.
Even with the new always-on screen, Apple says that the Series 5 watch will maintain the Series 4's 18-hour battery life. The company credits this feat to a new low-power display driver and low-temperature polysilicone and oxide display.
Watchfaces and workouts have been redesigned to take advantage of the new display option. The screen will maintain a low-brightness mode and will only light up fully once you move your wrist.
The always-on display option isn't the only new thing on the next generation Apple Watch. For the Series 5, Apple has prepared titanium and aluminum finishes, but the previous model's ceramic and stainless-steel options are still available. According to Apple, this is the most number of finishes they have ever prepared for the Apple Watch.
The Apple Watch Series 5 also comes with emergency calling for international countries and a built-in compass. These new features are neat, but Apple didn't deliver the features we were expecting - the first-party sleep tracking feature - which was widely talked about before the announcement.
Truth be told, the Apple Watch 5 is merely a minor upgrade on the Watch 4. If not for the always-on display, you could say that you're wearing a more expensive version of the previous model. But anyone hoping for something more dramatic and new in 2019 will be disappointed. This is effectively the Apple Watch 4S with a new screen, something a little different to last year's model.
Is it a good buy? Probably not. But that's not to say it's a bad watch at all. Any form of improvement is a good thing, but honestly, we all know Apple could do better, and they would need to, if they still want to be the frontrunners in the smartwatch scene.
The GPS model of the Series 5 starts at $400 and the cellular connected version for $500. Pre-orders are up and running with the new watches hitting the stores on Sept. 20.
Apple has also dropped the price of the Series 3 to $200 permanently, which is the lowest price so far, with the Series 4 model being dropped from the lineup.
